


Harems and Herbology: Using Love to Source Reagents for Fun And Profit

by GenghisSpaceKhan



Series: Poly Wizard Universe (Name Subject to Change When I Get a Good One) [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Blessed (catgirl style half humans), F/M, Fantasy, Gay, M/M, Mink Boy, Poly, Probably not as horny as you think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:49:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26761645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenghisSpaceKhan/pseuds/GenghisSpaceKhan
Summary: A wizard inherits a farm, and laboratory compound, from his late aunt. With it comes a opportunity for him and his boyfriend (a human Blessed with great magical energy, little control, and animal traits) to study at a local university in exchange for use of their land when needed. And maybe they can find a few people to add to their little home.After all, who wouldn't be interested in the nephew of one of the most infamous mages in the country and his Blessed Mink boyfriend?
Series: Poly Wizard Universe (Name Subject to Change When I Get a Good One) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938946





	1. Chapter 1

“You got all the bags, Ras?”

I snapped back into focus from his voice, turning away from the old farmhouse. Eli stood there, the carriage that brought him already beginning to leave.

“Yeah, though it took another couple days to get the last one. When I told the first cart about Daytraitor they couldn’t hand them over fast enough, “ I laughed. 

“So the usual for him then. How’s the big lug doing anyway?”

“Napping as usual. He’s been a big help clearing out the mice and took one of the old labs for his room,” I said as I moved to take the suitcase next to him, “The one with the glass ceiling.”

“At least you have another three to use, right? Why did your aunt even have so many labs to begin with?”

“24 more, actually,” I said, enjoying the stunned look on his face, “six of them are underground with tunnels connecting them. Those ones will take a lot of work, since they all seem to be part of a single ritual circle. And that’s not counting the bedrooms, storage, and what I think was some kind of animal breeding room?”

“Wait wait wait, what? So not only was she building one of the largest sigils in the world for something, this area is full of magically enhanced supercritters that have been living here for years? With the contents of every other lab that they’ve been digging through, we’d need an army to clean this up! Why did you accept the death farm?!”

“The largest sigil in the world. I measured.”

“This is not better!”

“Hey, baby it’s fine. I’ve been going through her notes on each lab. The breeding room was one of the first labs and was abandoned and cleared out a long time ago. The sigil is a little complicated but seemed to be multipurpose. It covers the buildings with room to grow further into the farmland, and was usually for insurance with exceptionally powerful or intricate spells. Anyway, she sealed some of the passages, so it’s broken until I’m knowledgeable enough to break those seals and therefore use it properly,” I point to the journal page with doodles of her rolling rocks into the tunnels. “She always loved turning things into little trials.”

Eli looked calmer now, hands ruffling through the Blessed fur on his forearms. It may have been the mink boy’s only animalistic trait (besides being very flexible), but he made sure it was cared for.

“That’s a relief, at least. The other labs should have plenty of ingredients to tide you over until the university reopens, right? It’d be nice to have some extra money before the stipends come in, too.”

“About that,” I say slowly, “ she kinda used all the Blessed materials before she left. Each lab was for a different project and they’ve all been cleared out, but they at least have a ton of the basics. She does have a nice stash of coins that’ll keep us comfortable and fix up the main building. So I still have need of my favourite magical boyfriend.”

Eli covered his arms defensively. “You’re not pulling my fur out again.”

“I was on a big time crunch and I’m sorry. But I do have good news in that regard.” I start patting the many pockets in my robes before finding and presenting the brush. The bristles were periodically followed by small holes that lead to a glass bulb. The handle had a few simple sigils carved into it, ensuring that it would activate when enough mana was poured into it. “ I know you needed a new brush since the old one’s been falling apart. Any shed is going to fall into this bulb here, and that’ll activate the wind spell on the handle, which will suck in any on the bristles and keep it clean. I managed to get it efficient enough that even my hair can keep it going for a couple hours on a single strand, yours should actually overflow it into a couple of storage stones I put into the hollow of the handle, which I capped with a cork on the bottom in case I need to replace them later. You’ll also see that the glass bulb is an attachment, so you can take it off once it’s full and I have about 3 more right now. If you want i can make some more out of coloured glass with a couple patterns I know you’ve been inter-“

“Ras,” Eli’s hand grasped mine as the other took the brush. “Thank you, and I’ll take that offer later. But I’m tired, hungry, and I missed you. Can we go inside now?” 

I smiled. “Of course.”

Seeing each other again was something we both sorely needed. Daytraitor came to see the commotion as we ate, coiling all twenty feet of himself into Eli’s lap when he saw who it was. Maybe traitor was an accurate name after all. 

The bedroom was large, but felt much cozier with everyone in it. Daytraitor found the bed with the warming cushion I made for him a couple days ago, while I held Eli in my arms.

It wasn’t until I woke up in the middle of the night that I remembered his suitcase, still sitting by the road.


	2. Chapter 2

For the next few weeks, we started our work.

The Enlightened Academy of Magical Studies was shut down for the year “as a result of unforeseen calamities” a few months ago, So we had about a year before they were open for business again. And we had a  _ lot _ of work to make my aunt’s old place habitable again. Being abandoned for a few years tends to do that.

The property had the main farmhouse with a few small labs, The barn for larger equipment that was needed in multiple labs, five lab buildings at each point of the magic circle, and a circle of guest houses in between. Only two of the guest houses could be considered salvageable, but at least the rest would make decent scrap wood for some sort of project. 

Sometimes I wondered why she had built so much here, but she was never one to explain herself. Like why  _ I  _ was the one to receive all this when there were plenty of other cousins who would have loved it that had actually met her. All I ever knew was the tales told about her, like how her magical affinity was discovered when she tried to make breakfast for everyone at six years old. Last I saw, the provincial cleaners were still working on the bone vines.

Though, I guess being the  _ troublemaker  _ in our generation is one thing we have in common.

I found Daytraitor lounging in the botany lab’s greenhouse, relaxing after what I’m sure was a difficult day of catching field mice and laying across my shoulders. He was fast asleep, eyes opening only to follow the dust I kicked up, and not the  _ dear friend _ he knew his entire life.

The greenhouse was one of the cleaner buildings, with all the plants removed and the tools neatly organized. There were still seeds of common plants, like lavender as a ubiquitous potion base and dandelions in case of unexpected reactions. The planters themselves were empty, like all the other labs and their adjacent storage rooms. All materials except for the most basic were gone, while the tools were neatly organized. No creature samples, no Blessed materials- Eli frequently reminded me of how annoyed he was to be my only source at the moment-, only household supplies. And her notes, of course.

Each lab had meticulous notes on experiments done in them, though what those experiments were I couldn’t decipher. The most I could do with them was store them away until I could understand them. Maybe that was what my aunt wanted? Someone that could continue this research, fulfill a legacy perhaps? If she ever gave a straight answer this would be much simpler. Even her journals, which seemed to be address to whoever was to succeed her here, were cryptic to the p-

“You here, Ras?  _ Someone  _ made food and it’s  _ not  _ gonna be left to go cold again.”

There he was. 

Eli walked in from behind me, placed the a tray next to me. Daytraitor raised his head to Eli’s shoulder, before slithering into my lap.  _ Finally _ , some loyalty. 

“So, what have you been up to in here?” Eli asked as he sat next to me, leaning into my arm.

“Making sure Traitor wasn’t trying to shed against some broken glass,” I said between bites, one hand on the little bastard in question. “Just another pristine lab with a baby’s weight in reports nothing fun.”

“I’m sure she just wanted you to build your own hijinx stockpile.” 

“I know. Doesn’t make me any less annoyed. How’s the house doing?” I moved my hand from the now empty tray to Eli’s shoulder, pulling him against me.

“Well, with some actual furniture, it’s beginning to look like it’s occupied. Have you just been sleeping in ther for the last three weeks?”

“I’ve been  _ exploring _ . And planning.”

“ _ Oh no.” _

“It’s not that bad. Just figuring out which labs we’ll rent out to The Academy, and where I’m gonna store my aunt’s lab reports so I don’t have ‘enlightened scholars’ breathing down my neck even harder.”

Eli turned to me as he moved in even closer, a question in his eyes, “why don’t you hand it over to them? It’s not like know what to do with it, maybe they will. It won’t be doing much good in a secret bookshelf.”

“It also won’t do much good if a copycat ends up doing something they can’t fix without the proper audacity and stubbornness that thought it up. And until I can be sure that I  _ can  _ do that, it’s better off safe and secure. Plus, if I give them anything, they could pull the same thing on me and take this whole place away in the name of “ensuring that all research is properly studied and the proper precautions are taken.’ Especially if they ever find out about the sigil.”

“Do you really think they don’t know about it? It seems rather difficult to hide. Even if it’s disrupted now, if she ever did anything with it, they would  _ have  _ to know. It would be magically blinding to any Blessed in town and beyond!”

“Her journal says as much. Maybe she never actually tested it, but she made absolutely sure it would work if uncorked it. Seems like she had plans until the end.”

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never heard about her partner. She had to have one, right?”

“I saw her the few times I met my aunt. Very quiet, very tall, never saw them apart. The most I remember is when I climbed on top of her horns.”

“ _ Ras _ -“

“I was four! I didn’t know any better!”

“And you can’t understand why she gave you all this?”

“...OK, that explains some things. I never found out what happened her partner, either. The last my family saw of her was the funeral. She could certainly explain a few things.”

“If they figured it out, we can too.” Eli yawned, and I noticed just how dark it was getting. “We can solve these mysteries tomorrow, anyway.”

That’s when the exhaustion of renovating for an entire day hit me. It felt like a real good idea. Besides, Eli was right: I wasn’t going to finally understand my aunt tonight. I just hoped I could do it at all.


End file.
